Shut gun registry: petition


A petition calling on NSW to abolish its Firearms Registry has been started in the wake of revelations that police have been lax with the security of gun owners’ data.

“Government members have highlighted these security concerns to the NSW Police who have denied any wrongdoing on their part, however the evidence is there for all to see,” the petition’s organisers say.

“We will petition the NSW government and in particular the premier Mr Barry O’Farrell to immediately abolish the NSW firearms registry and repeal the requirement in the NSW Firearms Act for a licensed firearm owner to register firearms.”

Shooters are increasingly worried about their safety after more reports of violent home invasions in which criminals are targeting firearms they know are kept at the addresses.

A week ago an elderly man was bashed and suffered a heart attack during a robbery in the Blue Mountains, and in another incident last year a man was shot in the foot when thugs stole a number of firearms from his home.

There are good grounds for believing criminals are planning their attacks using names, addresses and firearm details obtained from the records held in the NSW Firearms Registry, which were downloaded onto the unsecured police intranet as long ago as 2010.

The data was available to hundreds of general duties police and volunteers during the state’s recent audit of all gun owners.

However, senior police insist an investigation has cleared the registry of any breaches and say criminals are using information sourced from other gun owners, gun clubs and local knowledge.

This has not placated firearm owners, and the petitioners say shutting down the registry “is essential to prevent just one more violent attack on a law abiding firearm owner who deserves the enjoyment of not being a target for criminals due to government incompetence and for them and their families to once again sleep well at night”.

“This current situation is not only dangerous but also unacceptable.”

The petition is hosted online here.

 

 

 


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Mick Matheson

Mick grew up with guns and journalism, and has included both in his career. A life-long hunter, he has long-distant military experience and holds licence categories A, B and H. In the glory days of print media, he edited six national magazines in total, and has written about, photographed and filmed firearms and hunting for more than 15 years.

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